Microsoft has certainly contributed to its own public relations woes, sometimes haplessly, sometimes senselessly.

CNN: Brickbats for Bill

Yet her haplessly obscure corner of the planet becomes as central to our common existence as a street in Paris or New York.

NEWYORKER: Going South

Dr. House makes a brilliant diagnosis, then single-handedly intervenes to save the patient, often shooing away bureaucrats and the rare nurses haplessly getting in his way.

WSJ: The Experts: How to Improve Doctor-Patient Communication